N3 crash: More than 60 people injured after bus drives off bridge

A bus crash on the N3 in Heidelberg, Gauteng, has left some passengers dead and dozens injured.

The incident took place on Sunday morning when the bus crashed off a bridge near the N3 Die Hoek Toll Plaza.

The bus crash left more than 60 people injured.

According to ER24, paramedics arrived at the scene to find the bus on its roof on the side of the road.

“A number of the passengers had already climbed out of the crushed bus and were now seated near the vehicle, while several others still lay trapped inside.

“Medics set up a triage area and began to tend to the patients. Initial assessments showed that at least six people had sustained fatal injuries while approximately 60 people had sustained minor to critical injuries,” ER24 said on Sunday morning.

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Further medical resources, ER24 said, were called to the scene of the bus crash – including several medical helicopters – to help assess, treat and transport the patients.

Rescue and Fire Services were also at the scene, attempting to free some patients who are trapped inside the bus.

“Medics treated the patients and provided the critically injured with advanced life support before they were transported to nearby hospitals for further care.”

The police are investigating the incident.

Speaking to eNCA, Lesedi Municipality Fire Chief, Clement Masinge, said the bus was travelling from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape to Johannesburg.

“Upon arrival, we found that it was multi-disciplined casualties where 10 bodies identified on this particular scene. Some patients were critically wounded,” he said.

Masinge said the bus was overloaded at the time of the accident.

“It had 68 [people] in total including the deceased, which were accounted for on this scene,” he added.

In a separate crash on Saturday, 12 people were injured when a bakkie and a taxi collided on the Main Reef Road in Roodepoort.

Paramedics arrived shortly after 12pm to find the bakkie and taxi in the left-hand lane.

“Medics assessed the patients and found that twelve adults had sustained minor to moderate injuries.

“Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities were found. The patients were treated and later transported to nearby hospitals for further care.”

KZN crash

Sixteen people people were killed in a horror crash on the N3 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) early on Saturday morning.

The multi-vehicle crash involved two trucks, a bakkie, two minibus taxis and five other cars.

Netcare 911 paramedics responded to scene, which took place on the N3 south bound between the Peter Brown and Chatterton Road off-ramps.

“When rescuers arrived on scene, the fire had spread to other vehicles and had engulfed the taxi with all its occupants,” Arrive Alive reported.

KZN Transport and Community Safety spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said the taxi is believed to have been travelling from Johannesburg to Harding, south of Durban.

“All the fatalities are believed to have been from a minibus taxi,” Ncalane told Jacaranda FM.

READ MORE: Twelve killed, several others injured in three separate accidents

One person, a 7-year-old boy, survived.

“At this stage it is still difficult to verify some of the details,” he added.

Meanwhile, four people killed while eight others injured in an accident on the N2 north bound before Spaghetti Junction near Durban.

The collision took place just after 8pm on Friday evening. 

Two women – aged between 30 and 50 – were also killed whilst five others have been were injured after a collision on the N12 just outside of Kimberley on Friday night.